Void

She sways in the haze.
         Foggy mind, distorted vision,
                   some invisible pain tearing her from within and a vague pressure surrounding her.
      It holds her,
   drags her,
drowns her,
                                    with arms of oppressing silence, threatening to engulf her,

                           leaving behind nothing
                                       but

                                             nothing.

An unseen tsunami crashing on a fragile shore, shredding villages in the dead of night.
                                  She runs, scrambles, stumbles as it draws nearer and nearer,
                                                                                  ready to envelop her.
She must race on.
        Heavy feet and drooping lids,
                  darkness looming all around.

She clings to the threads of life.

Suddenly, she wakes,
heart pounding and blood racing:
a throbbing volcano on the verge of eruption.

                          As the first rays of white light penetrate her blinds
                                        and illuminate the stark walls around her,
                                                    her pulse slackens to match the ticking emanating from the wall.

She lies in complete silence
and comes to herself once more,
only to find that reality
is far more sinister than any dream.
                                                                 Each beam of light pierces and scorches,
                                                  for in the sun do the
                                                          true
                                                                shadows
                                                                         lie.